Recipes

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Vanilla French Toast with Blueberries; A tribute to Selma.

This post is a tribute to my blogger friend who recently lost her battle to cancer and passed away. She is referred to as the "Sparkling Diva". She truly was. In this very competitive world, where people are often more selfish than selfless, she was one of those few selfless ones who always was kind and encouraging to new bloggers. I belong to this category. She always had good things to say to me. She was indeed a wonderful person who's presence will be missed by many. Selma, may your soul rest in peace.I think she would have liked this recipe. She is someone who liked to live close to nature and appreciated it.You can check out her amazing work in her blog Selma's Table.

Weekends for me are special. Not because I don't work on weekends, but because I get to spend more time with my children on weekends. While we try to take them out somewhere, do something every weekend, we also try to spend quality time together by making the mundane chores special and fun. My kids are little. So, in their own little way, with their little hands, they help me. It may not be perfect. But both them and me, are very proud of the work that they do. They help me with the laundry, they help clean the house, water the plants, do the groceries etc. They love to pick up vegetables and fruits at the market. I rarely say no to the fruits and veggies that they pick up. This past weekend, my son picked up two different kinds of plum and peach, fruits which they usually don't eat. When they came home, I cut them up for them and they relished it. That for me is learning. Rather than looking at pictures, they see, touch and taste the fruits. They therefore learn more. Another special thing that we do on weekends is make breakfast together. My son's favorite is French Toast. I often try to sneak in fruits and vegetables whenever possible into their food. So this time, I made Vanilla French Toast and served it with fresh blueberries and banana slices. I do not have any syrup in my home. I believe that it is too processed. I instead use maple syrup or honey. So here is the simple recipe for this delicious breakfast.

Method:

Using a whisk, beat the egg in a bowl until the quantity doubles. Add in the milk, cinnamon, vanilla essence, sugar, salt and mix well.

Heat a skillet/ griddle on medium flame. Add 1/2 tsp butter.

Soak 1 slice of bread in the egg mixture for 15-20 seconds on both sides. Place this in the skillet/griddle and cook until it turns slightly golden in color around two minutes on low flame. Flip and cook the other side.

Do this with all four bread slices.

Serve 2 slices of bread with half the blueberries and half the banana slices. Top it with maple syrup.

Serve when the bread is still warm.

Enjoy.

Selma, how do you like this one?? I am bringing this to the special tribute that you have for her Angie at Fiesta Selma. Thanks for organizing this event. You brought us together. I am also linking this to Foodbod, The Not So Creative Cook, and Birgerbird. I believe these people are the ones that are like pillars to Angie in continuing the fiesta just the way Selma was. Maintaining an ongoing event like Fiesta Friday takes a lot of time, effort and energy. All of you do it so selflessly and wonderfully!

Cooking made easy:

Whenever you make something that is egg based and requires cooking on a skillet, it is better to grease the skillet with butter instead of oil. A little bit of butter goes a long way and it prevents it from burning. Also cook it on low flame.

Do not overcook/ burn eggs. It does not taste good.

Also, do not soak the bread in the egg for too long. This makes the bread very soft and may fall apart. It also makes it harder for the inside to cook.

Tip for healthy living:

Incorporate 4-6 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Be creative. Make fruits and vegetables part of every meal that you eat or feed your kids with. Habits are what we inculcate at an early age.

Food for thought:

Live today as if there is no tomorrow for tomorrow is not guaranteed anyways! Self